Knowledge Base

When your Dell PC, monitor or tablet does not seem to be working correctly, diagnostic tools are available to help you identify what the issue may be, and provide troubleshooting steps to help resolve the issue. Dell PCs and tablets come with pre-boot diagnostics and Dell SupportAssist to help you diagnose hardware problems.

It is recommended that you first run a diagnostic test to check for common errors with the hardware devices on your PC, monitor or tablet. You can choose to run a quick test, full test or even test a selection of hardware devices (custom test) on your Dell PC or tablet.

If the diagnostic test identifies a hardware issue, you can review troubleshooting suggestions that can help you resolve the problem, capture error codes that can help you fix your device or get replacement parts without calling technical support.

Note: Online replacement part request can be made only when you run Dell's Online Diagnostics. Online replacement part request depends on the warranty coverage of your Dell PC and varies by region. To learn how to run Dell's Online Diagnostics, refer to the Diagnostic tools for Dell PCs and Tablets section below.

Dell's online diagnostics help you troubleshoot a problem, get automated fixes and order replacement parts. Online diagnostics installs Dell SupportAssist to help you troubleshoot your Dell PC.

Note: Online replacement part request can be made only when you run Dell's Online Diagnostics. Online replacement part request depends on the warranty coverage of your Dell PC and varies by region.

Quick Test

Run a quick test to check for common errors with the processor, hard disk drive, memory and optical drive (CD/DVD/Blu-Ray) on your Windows-based PC or tablet. If an error is detected, we will fix it automatically, suggest troubleshooting steps, recommend further tests or help you get compatible replacement parts. This test will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Run Quick Test or Run Stress Test.

Custom Test (specific device test)

Test a specific device or choose multiple hardware devices that you want to test. We will combine your selections into a single test to run. This test will take approximately 20 minutes or more to complete, depending on the selected hardware devices.

Full Test

Run a full test to perform a thorough analysis of your Dell PC or tablet. This test runs a stress test on all the hardware devices on your Dell PC or tablet. This test will take approximately 40 minutes or more to complete. Run Full Test.

To run a Custom Component Test, select the devices you want to test and click Run your test.

To run a Stress Test, click on Custom Component Test and check the System stress box under Performance, and then click Run your test.

Note:Dell System Detect and Dell SupportAssist are required to identify your Dell device and run a diagnostic check. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install Dell System Detect and Dell SupportAssist.

Note: Some diagnostic tests may display graphical patterns to test the video or display and some status dialog box that may require your response. The diagnostic test results may show incorrectly if there is no response provided when required.

Dell PCs, tablets and monitors come with pre-boot or built-in diagnostics which can help diagnose hardware issues and capture error codes. Built-in or pre-boot diagnostics are run before the PC boots into the operating system. Running a built-in or pre-boot diagnostics does not require your PC to be connected to the internet.

Note: Some diagnostic tests may display graphical patterns to test the video or display and some status dialog box that may require your response. The diagnostic test results may show incorrectly if there is no response provided when required.

Running Built-in Diagnostics on a Dell Monitor

Dell monitors are equipped with a built-in diagnostic tool that helps determine if the screen abnormality you are experiencing is an inherent problem with the Dell monitor or with the video card (GPU) and PC settings.

Running LCD Built-in Self Test on a Dell laptop PC

Dell laptop PCs have a built-in diagnostic tool that helps you determine if the screen abnormality you are experiencing is an inherent problem with the LCD (screen) of the Dell laptop PC or with the video card (GPU) and PC settings.

Dell SupportAssist proactively checks the health of your PC's hardware and software. When an issue is detected, SupportAssist notifies you. SupportAssist is preinstalled on all new Dell home PCs and tablets. If you have a device less than a year old, simply search your device for "SupportAssist" and run the application. If your device did not come with SupportAssist preinstalled or you want to reinstall SupportAssist, make sure that your device meets the minimum system requirements and download SupportAssist for PCs and tablets.

Running Hardware Checkup in Dell SupportAssist:

Click Windows Start.

Open Dell SupportAssist application.

Click Hardware Checkup tile.

Choose the type of diagnostic test you would like to run:

Default - This test will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Stress - This test will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Scan a Specific Device - This will allow you to run a diagnostic test on a specific device in your PC.

SupportAssist Enterprise is our comprehensive and easy to use, proactive and predictive, automated support technology. SupportAssist automatically identifies hardware faults, creates a case, and initiates contact from Dell EMC to the customer.

SupportAssist Enterprise monitors up to 15,000 server, storage and networking devices. It can be used as a stand-alone application or with OpenManage Essentials (OME) or Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM). SupportAssist Enterprise can be downloaded on either a Windows or Linux management server.